Tea and Coffee
by alyenne
Summary: A story about music, redemption, and two drinks. A post-war fic.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE - A DAY AT THE MINISTRY**

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Harry Potter or anyone else.

Heads turned as she bustled through the halls. Her frizzy, brown hair bouncing around her. Hermione sighed, trying to push back her hair.

"This potion was supposed to straighten my hair, not curl it even further," she muttered, annoyed, to no one in particular.

Finally, she reached the door she was looking for. Pushing it open loudly, she waited for the man sitting by the desk to turn around.

"Oh, er hey Hermione, what's up? Isn't your section in the opposite side of the Ministry?" he said, clearly surprised.

"Well, Harry, yes it is, thank you for noticing." Hermione huffed. "Now, explain _this."_ She said angrily, pointing to an article in the Daily Prophet.

"Gryffindor Princess and War Hero – a match made in heaven?" Harry read. "Wow, that's a new one. Do people actually call you the Gryffindor Princess?"

"That's not the point! I don't understand why the Daily Prophet always has to print this stuff. It's not even true! Ron and I don't even _look_ like we're together!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

"Well, maybe, if you helpfully remind them that you once trapped Rita Skeeter in a jar, they'll back off a bit," Harry joked.

"You _what?"_ A voice said from behind Hermione. She turned around to see a familiar face.

"Oh, yeah, Hermione, Malfoy here got hired as an Auror too," Harry said tentatively, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Oh. Well, then, congratulations on the job Malfoy," Hermione said, not sure of what to do. "I'll see you around, Harry."

She walked out briskly, hoping to get away faster. From behind her she heard the aurors talking to each other. A faint grin crossed her face for a second as she heard Malfoy ask:

"Did she _actually_ trap Rita Skeeter in a jar?"

Hermione wondered if Harry had forgiven Malfoy. She wondered if she, herself, had forgiven him too.

Draco wasn't stupid.

He knew from the start that no one would want to accept him as an Auror, that no one would want to be his partner.

He heard the rumors, the ones stating that he only became one to try and make his family's reputation better.

Well, that would be true, besides the fact that he didn't really have a family anymore, unless you counted his father, who was in Azkaban, and his mother, who was in house arrest.

The real reason he became an Auror was because no one else would offer him a job. And, as rich as his family was, at least half of his money had gone to the Ministry after the war, and his mother insisted on donating practically all of the rest of it to helping rebuild the magical community.

So, Draco needed the money, and only Kingsley would hire him.

His first encounter with his fellow workers hadn't been pleasant.

 **Three weeks ago**

Kingsley nodded his head toward the right.

"Follow me."

Draco entered the room after him, looking at the faces around him. Waiting for them to turn angry.

The first response came from Dennis Creevey.

"What is _he_ doing here?" He asked, pointing an accusing finger at Draco. After that, more and more voices started shouting.

Draco spotted Harry in a corner. He was surprised to see that Harry wasn't joining in on the shouts.

 _Wonderful,_ Draco thought. _Not only does every hate me, but I get to spend more time with the one guy who could actually have enough influence to make me lose my job._

"Everyone, quiet down now," Kingsley yelled above the voices of everyone else. No one paid him much attention.

"Fine, then, have it your way. Silencio!"

Now, everyone grew quiet.

"Thank you. Now, as I was going to say, Draco has become an auror. And before any of you try to say that he doesn't deserve it or anything, I'll have you know that he aced his exams and is very advanced in his spells. He probably did better than half of you here. So, naturally, he has every right to be working alongside you. I will be very disappointed if I find out that any of you treat him disrespectfully," Kingsley said, before turning toward Draco.

"Just to test how you do, I want to assign you a task. Here is the file. I'm sure you know the procedure already but I'll go over it again. Read the file, find a partner, and report to me before leaving. Someone will set up a portkey for you, finish your job, report back to me, and fill out some paperwork. Understand?"

Draco nodded.

 _Who in their right mind would want to partner up with me? Maybe Kingsley will let me go without a partner?_

"And, before you ask, the answer is no. You may not go alone. And no, I did not read your mind. Every new auror asks that question."

With a "Finite Incantum" and wave at Draco, Kingsley walked right back out of the door he entered a few minutes ago.

Everyone stared at Draco.

He stared back.

"Well, don't expect me to be your partner for anything," Dennis said, wrinkling his nose. A few others agreed. Draco felt his heart sink a little bit more.

He walked over to his assigned desk and opened up the file.

 **"Muggle Attacks sighted in Russia.**

Visit the Russian Ministry of Magic first for more information.

Death Eaters Nott and Dolohov set fire to the muggle village of Hemsworth. Investigate, and catch them if possible."

Along with that were pictures of burnt houses and a blurry shot of what looked like two people with death eater masks on.

Draco didn't really want to go investigate something that reminded himself so much of his past, but he figured Kingsley had done that on purpose. To test him, probably.

Draco turned around as he heard a knock on his office door.

"Yes?"

To his surprise, Harry was standing outside his office, looking sheepish.

"Well, uh, Malfoy, funny seeing you here."

Draco didn't comment.

"I guess not everyone took it very well."

Draco sighed. "As surprising as this might sound, I was aware of that, Potter. You know, with the screaming and everything.'

"Er yeah, right, but I just wanted to say that if you need a partner, well, you can always ask me," Harry said nervously. "I mean, not trying to offend you or anything, but it doesn't really seem like anyone else was going to offer."

Draco was astonished, to say the least, but he made sure not to show it.

"Well Potter," he drawled. "I had no idea that you wanted to spend so much time with me. All you had to do was ask."

Harry turned a faint shade of red. "Don't be such a git. You're welcome, by the way."

Draco stared at Harry's back as he walked away.

 _Guess I have to give a little more credit. Thank god the Weasel isn't here._


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

* * *

Hermione looked worried as she spoke with her assistant, Brenda.

"There's been another attack in Russia?" Hermione asked.

Brenda nodded. "Yes, and Kingsley wants you to go because you're the only one in the Magical Communications department that knows how to speak Russian without using a spell."

Hermione bit her lip, then nodded. "Alright. Send a memo to Kingsley saying that I'll go."

Hermione hadn't gone outside of Great Britain ever since she visited her parents in Australia. It seems that the memory charm she placed on them was irreplaceable. Hermione had wanted to see if she could implant false memories inside her heads, but she knew that too much mind-changing could prove to be fatal to her parents.

Hermione felt a nip on her shoulder. The tan, wide-eyed owl dropped a letter in her hand and then hooted impatiently.

"You want a treat, don't you?" Hermione asked, knowing full well that the owl would not, and could not reply.

For some reason, her right top shelf, where her owl treats usually sat, remained empty that day.

"Oh, bugger," Hermione cursed. She stepped outside to ask Brenda if she had anymore, when she saw a certain blonde-haired Auror heading her way. _Is it John again? I told him not to contact me during work._

"Hey, Granger," Draco called out. "We're on the case together, along with Potter too."

"Hmm, what did you say? Sorry, actually, can you wait for a second? I need to find some owl treats?" Hermione blabbed as she looked through all of her drawers. Where is Brenda when you need her?

"Oh, well, ok," Draco said awkwardly. "I have one if you want it."

Hermione didn't reply. She was too busy trying to convince the owl that she really didn't have anything for it. After a few minutes of coaxing, the owl finally gave an irritated hoot, bit Hermione's finger, and left.

"Oh, thank god. Wait - Malfoy? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Well," Draco started. "I _was_ just about to say. We're on the case together. For Russia. With Potter too. I came to tell you that the portkey is leaving at 9:00 tomorrow morning. And, by the way, if you want to leave the case because of me, I'm just letting you know that I won't be hurt."

"Oh," Hermione mumbled. She hesitated for a second. _Do I really want to go with Malfoy, out of everyone?_

She didn't want to seem prejudiced against him though. _After all, his mom did save Harry._ "Well, you know, I'm sure we'll be fine. If Harry's there too and everything. I hope not everyone is giving you such a hard time."

Draco let out a bitter laugh. "Oh no, everyone treats me great. They love the fact that I'm fighting the dark side now even though everyone's favorite friend, Voldemort, used to reside in my house."

"Right… Well ok, I really have to go, I need to pack," Hermione said hurriedly, not wanting to reply to Draco's outburst.

"Yeah, ok, Granger. See you."

Hermione hurried away to her apartment after. She felt bad for hesitating so much about going on a 100% professional case with Draco, but…

 _Cut yourself some slack_ , she thought to herself. _After the way he treated you for all those years, you deserve to be a bit wary. But, then again, Harry seems to trust him, but maybe Harry's too trusting. I wonder why he never told about Malfoy then._

Hermione shook her head. She was not going to think about Draco for the rest of the day, she decided. With a heavy sigh, Hermione started to pack – the Muggle Way.

* * *

"Hey, Malfoy, can you go meet the person from the Magical Communications department that's coming with us?" Harry asked.

"Why can't you do it?" Draco inquired. "I don't like talking to other people."

Harry waved his hands around. "Do you see how much paperwork I have to do right now?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, sure, of course the boy-who-won't-fucking-die-yet has a ton of stuff to do, and I don't."

Harry looked up from his paper. "I'm sure it isn't because of me, probably just because you've been here for a few days. Also _what_ did you just call me?"

"Nothing," Draco grumbled. He sat up, stretched his arms, and then left. At least this experience gave him the opportunity to fully explore the Ministry.

He entered the elevator, before realizing that he had no idea what floor to go to.

By his past experiences at the Ministry, Draco guessed it was definitely either the seventh or eighth floor. He decided to try the seventh floor first.

"Welcome, this is the Department of Enforcement," said the person at the front desk.

Draco couldn't help but sputter, "W-Weasley?"

The said person turned to look at him. "Malfoy," he said, his voice completely changed. It was filled with venom.

Draco immediately knew that it was time to get out of there.

Draco re-entered the elevator as he heard Ron's shouts. "I don't care about what the Wizengamot said, you're a death eater, and I know it. Stay away from my family! And Harry and Hermione!"

 _Thanks for the reminder_ , Draco thought. He fought the urge to tell Ron that he was already working with Harry and Hermione.

He quickly pressed the button labeled "Eight" and prayed that the elevator doors would close soon.

And that's how, ten minutes later, Draco found himself watching a frantic Hermione searching for something in her office. She had an angry owl following after her.

Draco took out a spare owl treat he was holding and tried to offer it to her. When Hermione didn't even reply, he figured she hadn't heard him. Not wanting to repeat himself, Draco stood there, stupidly holding out an owl treat.

He stepped outside Hermione's office, not wanting to intrude. He heard Hermione's soft voice talking to the owl.

"Come on, look at me. You can see that I have nothing for you," she murmured to the owl. Draco chuckled as he heard Hermione's gasp.

"Well, don't expect any treats from me next time either if you're going to bite me! Now, go away!"

 _Trust Granger to start bossing around an owl._ Draco waited for Hermione to calm herself, before telling her the details of their trip. He saw that she didn't seem every happy about working with him, but brightened at the thought of Harry coming along too. _What a typical Gryffindor, she doesn't even try to hide her feelings._

Draco told Hermione she didn't have to come, even though he knew she would – for her job, or to make sure his feelings weren't hurt. He did feel, a little miffed though, when she said that she hoped not everyone was treating him that bad. _There is no way she doesn't know about how cold everyone is to me. I mean, honestly though._

Which led to Draco's small outburst, that he regretted very, very much after. He didn't need anyone's pity.

 _Well, we can't all be as perfect as Potter._

After Hermione left, he stood, in her office, for a bit before realizing it was time to leave.

* * *

 **Approximately 7 minutes later**

"Potter."

"Malfoy. So, who's coming with us?"

"Granger. But you knew that already, didn't you?"

"Well… I might've assumed that, but really there is no way that I could've known."

Draco screamed, internally, but he forced his face to remain stoic.

"So, you were pretty sure that the person I had to talk to was your best friend, who hates me, and you send me anyway."

Harry nodded, and continued to write on whatever he was working on.

Draco ran his fingers through his hair, and left. And he made sure that he slammed the door to Harry's office very loudly.

* * *

 **WiseGirlGeek: Yes, it is. And thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I will only own Harry Potter in my dreams**

* * *

 _Where is everyone?_ Hermione hated it when people were late. She checked her watch for the fourth time in the last ten seconds. _The portkey's leaving in two minutes, and I'm the only one that actually arrived. I'm going to kill Harry after this.  
_  
Just when Hermione was about to contact Elizabeth, the supervisor of portkeys, to postpone their time until 9:30, Draco and Harry showed up, both very out of breath.  
"Don't ask," Harry said under his breath. Hermione gestured for them to grab on to their portkey. She glanced at her watch again. 9:00. The portkey would start, right about… now. She felt like she was doing cartwheels in midair, and collapsed onto the ground.  
"Don't look at me like that," she said grumpily at amusement and surprise on Harry and Draco's faces, respectively. "You know that I hate using these things."  
"Well, actually, _I_ didn't," Draco added.  
"Good thing I wasn't talking to you then," Hermione shot back sharply. Harry started to walk toward the building in front of them, but Hermione simply admired it. It was huge, with marble columns down the sides, and a white dome at the top.  
"Hurry up, Granger, we don't have all day," Draco said, tapping his foot.  
Hermione ignored his comment, and instead sent him a scathing look. "You know, _Harry_ ," she said, emphasizing the last word. "I read that there's a window in here that can show you any place in the entire world."

Draco chuckled. "Glad to see that you're still a bookworm, Granger."

Hermione decided not to comment again. _Stupid Malfoy and his stupid comments. If this is anything like Hogwarts again, I'm leaving and getting Brenda to do this._

"You know, it's rude to ignore people," Draco added, after Hermione's silence.

 _Perfect, I'll just not talk to Malfoy for the entire trip. He's got to leave me alone eventually._

Draco seemed sullen at the fact that Hermione still didn't speak to him. Harry watched the two of them with trepidation.

"You two better not hex each other the minute I turn my back, ok?" Harry asked. Draco rolled his eyes, and Hermione glared. "I'm serious," Harry said. "Draco isn't the same as he used to be. Would I be here if he were?"

Hermione bit her lip and sighed. "I guess not."

Harry swiveled around to Draco. "And _you,_ you know she doesn't trust you that much, so why do you insist on trying to patronize her?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "Because I want to, Potter. And because it was a joke."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "A joke? Just like how all the times you called me a Mudblood was a joke?" _What a git. I'd apparate away right now, but I can't leave Harry._

"No, Granger, those weren't jokes," Draco said, looking down. "I'm sorry, can we just go in now?"

Hermione huffed, and walked right past him.

"Hello, welcome to Russia, I am Abram Rtistshiv," said the man near Hermione, but in Russia (naturally). He had black hair similar to Harry's, but it was slicked back, and looked much neater. He looked much too young to be Minister of Magic already, in Hermione's opinion. _Perhaps a glamour charm._

"Thank you very much," Hermione said back, in impeccable Russian. You could barely tell that she was actually British. "We are here to discuss the recent Death Eater sightings."

Abram nodded, and thought for a bit. "I have someone who is more involved with that than I am. Unfortunately, he is in a meeting right now, but I will be sure to get him immediately after. Meanwhile, why don't you three enjoy Russia for a bit. I don't imagine that you come here very often. We can meet up over there in five hours." He pointed to a small garden outside. In the middle, was a white gazebo, covered in red roses.  
As soon as Abram left, Hermione jumped around, looking at everything. "This place is so beautiful! Look at that garden! I've got to check out the window too."

She heard Draco say, softly, "You should check out the garden at the Manor. You'd love it."

Then he walked away. "I guess I'd ruin your fun, so I'll see you later. If you need me, I'll be at the nearest bar," he called out to Harry and Hermione.

"Actually," Harry started to say. He gave an apologetic glance at Hermione. "I could really use a drink too, right now."

 _Traitor._

"It's ok, I'll see you later," Hermione said as cheerfully as she could, trying to dissemble her disappointment. Harry gave her a sceptical look, then walked after Draco.

As soon as Harry was out of sight, Hermione's shoulders drooped. _I'll just have to have a fantastic time, without either of them. Besides, they wouldn't want to go to the places I want to go anyway. So maybe I'm better off without them._

Hermione had read a book about places in Russia before. It held a lot of historic sites, both Magical and Muggle. She decided to visit Gorod Drakona, the Russian equivalent of Diagon Alley. There was a portal, somewhere in the MInistry that lead to it, according to Hermione's knowledge. She searched around for it, and found it at the very edge of the second floor. It was a bluish swirl, and did not make Hermione's stomach flop around. In fact, it felt pretty peaceful, especially compared to apparate in and using portkeys. _We should really install some of these back over in Great Britain. I'll have to discuss it with Shacklebolt._

* * *

To say it simply, Gorod Drakona was beautiful and amazing. Hermione gushed over the lavish designs on the robes there. Some might of thought of Hermione as someone who didn't care for fashion or looks (Based on the state of her hair, probably),and they were correct, Hermione really didn't care much about how she appeared. But, even she could appreciate the intricate works of art. She also visited Rossiya Magiya, a museum devoted to explaining how magic grew in Russia over the years. Hermione was amazed by it. Some Muggles even knew about wizards, and lived in the same town as them. _I wonder why we can't get along back at home._

After that, it was just about time to go back and meet Harry and Draco again. She exited the museum and took a deep breath. _Maybe you can't remember how you got here, but remember that you can always ask someone. Or… Actually… Isn't that the way?_

The way, that Hermione was currently thinking about, was a narrow road to the right of her.

 _What's the harm?_ She asked herself, fully knowing that there could be many potential dangers.

She entered the passage, and was about the turn back, since she realized that practically no one else was there. Suddenly a man shot a spell at her from behind. _Fuck,_ Hermione internally cursed. She could not longer move.

The man brought her closer to him, and Hermione caught a whiff of his breath. _So… He's drunk._

Hermione concentrated as hard as she could. _Finite Incantum. Finite Incantum._

"You're a fine girlie," said the man. "I'll make you feel real good. _Real_ good."

Hermione focused harder. She imagined herself, breaking out of the bonds. She felt the man let go of her for a second, and then Hermione jumped up.

"Accio wand! Ictus!"

The man flopped onto the ground and groaned. "Don't you want to feel good?" He asked in a raspy voice. "Make it stop…. Please."

Hermione took pity on the man and stopped the spell. She gave him a scorned look, and then apparated away.

* * *

Draco hadn't expected Harry to want to go to the bar with him. _I guess Granger is just really boring. Guess I'm not surprised._

Draco ordered firewhiskey for both of them, and plopped down on his chair.

"What a hell of a morning," Harry mumbled.

"That's an understatement," Draco said back. "I can't believe Pansy made a move on _you."_

 _"_ I can't believe it either," Harry said.

He and Draco drank in silence.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Gorod Drakona - Dragon Village**

 **Rossiya Magiya - Russia Magic**

 **Ictus - Sting**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

 **AN: I guess not many people care, but I'd like to say that I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to upload, and is quite short. Basically, I had all my midterms this week, since the semester ends in two days. Thanks to the three people that still follow this!**

* * *

 _Fucking hell, we look like friends, don't we? Old chums sitting down together for a nice drink._ Draco grimaced. _That's a funny notion - Potter and I as besties._

"Hey, Potter, I'm going to look around, ok? They say that Russia has a place like Diagon Alley that sells amazing, err, ice cream," Draco rushed. Harry gave him a look. He seemed to know that Draco wanted to get away from him.

"Oh, go on then," Harry said, lazily pointing to the exit. "I'll just meet up with you and Hermione later. Going to see if I can find a present to bring Ginny and Ron."

Draco grinned. "The Weaslette? Are you two together yet?"

Harry blushed. "Well, I mean we aren't that serious yet."

"Mm, hmm," Draco hummed.

If it were possible, Harry's got redder. _It's almost the color of the Weasel's hair._

"Just _go,_ already, would you?" Harry sputtered out.

"As the lady wishes," Draco replied, teasingly, and then left. Harry remained at the bar, and took a big swig of his drink. _Better stock up on alcohol,_ he thought. _Especially if I'm going to be working with Malfoy._

* * *

Draco peered into the shop window. He had arrived in the marketplace, and saw a hoard of people around it. The shop was currently selling the _Nimbus Zero,_ a broom that was more advanced than any other broom sold before. It had a sleek but simple design - a smooth light mahogany brown wood, with a strip of black and gold at the end. The broom boasted a superior flying experience.

"Oh, gosh, I really wish I could get one of these! Too bad that the price is more than I make in an entire year!" A red-headed girl in a green cap said to her friend next to her.

Draco looked down at the price tag. _1 million galleons? Maybe I should buy Blaise this… Christmas is coming soon…. But with the amount of money I currently have, that'd take me a lifetime to buy it… Reminds me of when I used to be able to buy these items without a second thought._

He hurried away, not wanting to dwell in the past anymore.

Just as he left the window, he heard a man's voice from the dark alleyway he was beside. Draco was tempted to just walk past, and ignore it, but his inner conscience rebelled. _At this rate, I'll become a Gryffindor, just like Saint Potter._

Draco took a deep breath, and entered the small space. He saw a rugged-looking man with tattered clothes next to a girl pinned against the wall.

Draco crept up behind a trash can and took out his hand. He pointed it steadily at the man and was about to cast a spell, when the girl suddenly stood up and sent a jinx at the man. _Holy fuck. It's Granger._ Draco immediately thought. Then - _she knows wandless and wordless spells?_

Before Draco could reach out to Hermione though, she had already apparated away.

* * *

Harry was _really_ drunk. Currently, he was blabbing away to the man next to him.

"Ya know, I miss my girl back from England. I kissssed some-un else though," Harry slurred. "I'll lose 'er, won't I? I can see it allllready. 'Golden boy dumped'."

The man next to him grinned. Harry couldn't see that because of his current state of mind, but, even if he was sober, the stranger's face was hidden by a black hood. "So, then, _Harry Potter,_ why don't you tell me about why you're here," the mystery man said.

Harry sighed. "Top secret miss eeennn," he said in a whiny voice, then passed out. The cloaked man took out his wand and looked around. No one seemed to be paying him any attention. He grabbed Harry and waved at the barkeep. "Hey, I'll be taking my leave now, my friend here can not hold his liquor for his life. Thanks for the drinks." The barkeep nodded and waved back. He found it strange that the man had called the two of them friends, since he was pretty sure that the two hadn't come in together. He shrugged, it wasn't like the man was stealing some famous celebrity or something.

* * *

Draco and Hermione met up with the Minister. They waited for 30 minutes, before getting suspicious about the fact that Harry hadn't showed up.

"Harry's not that responsible, but I don't think he would would be _this_ late to an important meeting," Hermione said. She bit her lip nervously. "What if he's hurt?"

Draco laughed. "Potter's an Auror, Hermione, he wouldn't just let his guard down."

Hermione stayed silent, but still looked worried.

Abram sighed. "I'm sorry, but I really can't wait any longer for your friend. Would you like to meet the person I was talking about now?"

Draco nodded, while Hermione still hesitated. The two men looked at her. "I just… feel like Harry's in trouble." She looked at Draco. "Maybe we can go try and find him after this meeting."

It sounded like a good plan to him. Abram led them to a small room. Perhaps, it wasn't such a small room, but there was a piano jammed in there too.

A dark-skinned man was looking over a file in a miniscule chair in the edge of the room. He grinned as Hermione and Draco walked in.

Draco took a double take when he was the man, and then grinned broadly.  
"Where have you been all these years?"


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I would love to own Harry Potter, but clearly I do not.**

* * *

 _Previously:_

 _A dark-skinned man was looking over a file in a miniscule chair in the edge of the room. He grinned as Hermione and Draco walked in._

" _It's been a while, mate."_

* * *

Hermione looked between the two men. They seemed to know each other. Hermione found the other man vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place who it was. He was unlike Draco in all means physically - with his dark eyes and hair that heavily contradicted Draco's light grey eyes and pale blonde hair.

"So," Hermione began. "You two know each other?" She asked, turning her voice up at the end, making the sentence seem like a question, almost.

"Yeah, this is Blaise. We used to be mates before he _moved_ and _never_ contacted me," Draco said, glaring.

Blaise laughed warmly, and chose to leave Draco's accusations unanswered. "Why, Granger, I'm offended you don't remember me. Weren't we partners once in potions? And then the Weasel threw a fit or something because I was a, what is it called?" At this point, Blaise stopped talking and pretended to think very hard. "Oh, I remember now. I was a "no good, sneaky, Slytherin Death Eater scum."

Hermione took a liking to the man immediately. He had barely known her,and yet, he stood there, joking with her already. _So unlike Malfoy…_

While the moment was fun, Hermione knew it was time to get to more serious matters.

"So, Blaise, the Minister tells me that you have information about the recent attacks."

Blaise's face turned solemn, and his eyebrows furrowed together. "Yeah, here's the thing, there doesn't seem to actually be that big of a pattern between the 're starting to think that there may be more Death Eaters banding together in this area than originally thought."

* * *

Harry couldn't see anything when we finally awoke, but he knew something was wrong.

He racked his brain for what could have lead to this, but the last thing he remembered was going to the bar, with Malfoy.

He seemed to not only have a blindfold on him. He felt the coarse feel of ropes around him. His wand was probably gone. He couldn't feel any major injuries, but was sore all over.

He heard footsteps coming toward hi, and suddenly the blindfold was ripped off. Harry stared at the man in front of him. His face was twisted in a malicious smile, that _definitely_ did not look friendly.

"Hello," was all he said at first. Harry waited for him to continue, but he did not.

"Who are you?" Harry choked out.

The man's eyes twinkled. "My name, is Antonin Dolohov. In fact, I believe that we've met before."

Harry's eyes widened, understanding the situation finally.

"As you can see," Dolohov said. "There's no escape. These are magic ropes, you can't use any form of magic, even windless, when they're bound around you. And, even if you managed to get out, well, you're in the heart of our headquarters. Have fun trying to get around almost 50 experienced wizards."

Harry willed for his face to stay impassive.

"Now, let's have some fun…. _Crucio!"_

* * *

Blaise was a bit concerned about Harry's disappearance as well, but Hermione was frantic with worry. "I bet he's tied up somewhere or something, or maybe he's hurt…"

Draco was starting to feel uneasy about the situation as well.

Hermione blabbed on. "He's terrible at holding his alcohol, and I bet someone took advantage of that…"

Blaise decided that he was going to go mad if he watched the current scene - Hermione pacing up and down, muttering to herself, Draco leaning against the piano, looking uncomfortable. "Maybe we should all actually _do_ something and look for him."

Draco, who had chosen himself to be the voice of logic, said, "But we don't know Russia well enough. We don't have many leads on where we could go look."

Hermione suddenly brightened up. "Oh!" She exclaimed. "I just remembered! Now, there might be some issues with it, since it's not fully developed, and I haven't tested it out much, so it might defect and lead us to the wrong pla-"

"Just _tell_ us already," Draco said impatiently.

"Well…I invented a modification of the 'accio' spell… So that instead of bringing something to you, it brings you to the object instead."

"You made your own spell?" Draco asked, fascinated.

Hermione smiled sheepishly. "I wouldn't really call it that. I change some spells for fun though. Now, I just need to think of an object that Harry might have with him." She turned around and stared out the window, in deep thought.

Blaise noticed Draco's mouth tilt a bit upwards, and he wondered what had changed. _Didn't Draco used to go on and on about how much he hated her?_

* * *

The three of them were stuck in thought. "What would Potter have on him? A badge or something?" Draco asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Harry doesn't usually carry shiny items. He did mention to me once that he was holding onto a ring for Ginny - he's going to propose - but I don't know if it will still be on him."

"Fuck it," Draco swore. "Let's just go with that. Every minute thinking is a minute that we could be trying to save Potter. How ironic would it be if a Death Eater still managed to kill him when he survived the war and everything."

Hermione winced at his words, but did not say anything about it to him. "Ok, so you guys need to hold along to me."

Blaise watched Draco awkwardly shift around Hermione, finally putting a hand on her back. Blaise glanced at Draco, then reached to hold Hermione's hand. Needless to say, she was surprised, but went along with it. The last thing they all felt was a sharp tug in their abdomen, before everything faded away.

* * *

 **WiseGirlGeek: Again, thank you! Your support really means alot to me!**

 **SB- Potterhead Budgie Lover: THANK YOU, AS WELL**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

* * *

They landed in a small cell. Harry was lying on the ground. His glasses were shattered and bits of glass were across the floor. His messy hair was even more unruly than usual and had bits of red on it. _Blood,_ Hermione later realized.

Blaise opened his mouth to speak, but Draco nudged him in the rib. Hermione brought a finger to her lips and shushed them both. She signaled for them to wait and then closed her eyes.

"Okay guys - " Hermione stopped at Draco's look of alarm. "It's ok, I cast a silencing charm. Although, it would probably be best for us to stay quiet anyway." Whispering now, she continued. "So, first of all, I want to say _no rash decisions._ Ok? _None._ There are definitely tons of wizards and witches around here and we can't beat them all. Now, I'm going to try to find a way to remove these ropes on Harry. Can you two see if there's a way out of the cell?"

Without waiting for their reply, Hermione set to work. Draco rolled his eyes. "Bossy, are we?"

Hermione sent him a death glare. Draco took the signal and shut up.

* * *

Blaise missed yesterday. When he was dining with an girl at a great Italian restaurant, instead of stuck in a small, dirt covered room. Now, his only form of entertainment was to watch Hermione and Draco's interactions, which were kind of amusing. Hermione seemed to always be trying to figure out Draco, like she completely trust him, but at the same time, she did. Draco was harder to read, and if Blaise hadn't known him for the first 14 years of their lives, he might've missed the small glances Draco sent in Hermione's way or how he always fidgeted slightly with his fingers when she spoke to him. Blaise watched them scoot around each other. _Guess it must be weird to work together after all those years. The two of them could be like a… Telly-phone… Wait no….telly vision? Yes, the two of them could be like characters on a Telly vision show. That's what it's called. And it'd be a dramatic angsty one too._

 _Okay, actually, maybe that's pushing it._

* * *

Hermione was getting more agitated by the second. She was afraid the ropes on Harry would triggered some alarm if she tried to take them out, but at the same time, she saw a deep gash on Harry's chest that was currently unreachable. Hermione had already healed the wounds on his head, but none of her other spells seemed to be working. She wasn't sure about how Blaise and Draco were doing, but it didn't seem like they were making much progress. These Death Eaters were far stronger than they had first anticipated. The original plan wasn't going to work. "Guys," Hermione said in a commanding tone. "We need to change something. We won't get anything done by standing here. We'll have to leave Harry and try to attack the entire place. We haven't talked about any of this with the Russian Minister, but there must be a way to find reinforcements."

She looked down sadly at Harry as Draco and Blaise hurried to alert someone about their incredible dangerous and slightly stupid plan. _How could you just leave him?_

Draco seemed to be sensing her thoughts. "You bloody Gryffindors," he said. "You're leaving Harry for a few hours. He's not going to be, like dead, or something."

Hermione did not see the humour in the situation. "Don't joke about that!" she exclaimed.

She took a deep breath and then motioned for Draco and Blaise to hold on to her again. "I'm redoing the spell. We'll land right in the middle of a warzone, practically. Be ready. Have other people been notified?"

Blaise and Draco both nodded.

Needless to say, Dolohov was quite surprised when the three of them popped into their main room. They stumbled a bit, disorientated, and they started shooting spells in every direction, taking advantage of the fact that everyone else in the room was in shock.

Hermione was sending " _Stupefy!"_ to everyone. Draco quickly sighed and shouted over the room to her. "Stupefys won't be enough! And to think that you survived the War!"

"No thanks to _you_ ," Hermione muttered, making sure Draco didn't hear.

Hermione saw Draco and Blaise both battling Dolohov out of the corner of her eye. Currently, she was trying to avoid Bellatrix's curses. _Does this woman ever take a break?_

Bellatrix cackled as she shot spell after spell. "Scared, are we? - _Passus! -_ Well, you should be!" At this point, Bellatrix let out a horrifying laugh, filled with malice. Her dark curls bounced around as she threw her head back. _Well, now I can tell Harry and Ron that I found at least one person with hair worse than mine._

Hermione was trying her best, but it was proving to be hard. Bellatrix entirely forgot about her defense, and instead focusing everything on offensive spells, forcing Hermione to do most of the avoiding. She prayed to god that no had taken Harry and left yet. She put up a shield charm and shot a glance over at the two former Slytherins, trying to see how well they were holding up. Unfortunately for her, Bellatrix managed to dispel it, causing Hermione to crash into a wooden barrel.

Hermione cursed under her breath and decided that maybe Draco was right - her spells had no chance against Bellatrix's " _Avada Kedavra"_ s.

"Protezione!" Hermione spat out, waving her wand in an arc. A bluish light spread from the tip of her wand, and surrounded the room. Bellatrix paused a bit, as if waiting for the spell to hit her. When nothing happened, she grinned devilishly and continued to pound spells at Hermione. Hermione, who had drained her energy into that spell, was not able to fully block some of Bellatrix's spells, resulting in her getting hit by _the Cruciatus._

 _Deja-vu, huh? Ironic._

And then the world faded to black.

* * *

Draco didn't even hear the screams at first. He was so intent on battling, that Blaise had had to nudge him (Extremely hard) and point quickly to Hermione, who was writhing on the floor.

 _Fuck._

"Well, go to her, mate!" Blaise yelled.

Draco wanted to, but his brain told him to stay. "It won't do us any good if you get knocked unconscious too!"

Blaise looked like he wanted to object, but Draco's logic was correct.

When they both noticed that the screams had stopped, they both sighed in relief.

Then they noticed that Hermione's movements had stopped too.

* * *

 **AN: To be honest, I didn't like this chapter too much. Guess I'm not much of an action writer.**

 **Passus - Pain (I think)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

 **Guess who doesn't own Harry Potter?**

 **(Hint: It's me)**

* * *

"Protezione!" Hermione spat out, waving her wand in an arc. A bluish light spread from the tip of her wand, and surrounded the room. Bellatrix paused a bit, as if waiting for the spell to hit her. When nothing happened, she grinned devilishly and continued to pound spells at Hermione. Hermione, who had drained her energy into that spell, was not able to fully block some of Bellatrix's spells, resulting in her getting hit by the Cruciatus.

" _Deja-vu, huh? Ironic." was Hermione's immediate thought._

 _And then the world faded to black._

 _Draco didn't even hear the screams at first. He was so intent on battling, that Blaise had had to nudge him (Extremely hard) and point quickly to Hermione, who was writhing on the floor._

 _When they both noticed that the screams had stopped, they both sighed in relief._

 _Then they noticed that Hermione's movements had stopped too._

* * *

Draco was not in a good position. He needed to help Hermione before she got hurt, or even killed ( **AN: Or worse,** _ **expelled**_ ). But, he also had to fight alongside Blaise before he died as well. _Oh, and Potter probably wants help as well. Great._

"Why does _everyone_ need me? Like, _honestly_ ," Draco groaned. Blaise managed to cock his eyebrow at him while dodging a purple spell Draco had never heard of or seen, for that fact, before.

"Arrogant, are we?" Blaise asked. "Hermione will have a fit once she hears about you and your hero complex now. You can be the new Potter! I can see it already : ' _Former Death Eater Turns a New Leaf and Saves War Heroine'._ "

Draco rolled his eyes. "Focus on fighting and I'm going to see if Granger's okay!"

Blaise nodded, then shouted back, annoyed. "You were the one that distracted me in the first place!"

* * *

Draco crossed his fingers, and ran across the room, hoping that Blaise could hold off the two Death eaters. Hermione was still on the floor, her brown curls spread out around her face. Bellatrix was shooting hexes at her, but seemed bored now that Hermione was no longer squirming or making any noise.

"Ennervate!"

Hermione's eyes slowly drooped open, and then in a flash, Bellatrix was back in action, _Crucio_ s all over the place. Draco looked on, in horror.

"It's similar, it's it Draco?" Bellatrix asked silkily.

Draco couldn't move. All he could think of was that fated day all those years ago. When he hadn't helped her. He wondered if Hermione still held a grudge over that day.

Bellatrix's familiar voice brought Draco out of his short reverie. "See, Draco? You won't help her this time either. You belong here, standing. And she - no, _it-_ belongs on the floor, like the mud their blood is made of. Join me, Draco."

Draco looked at Bellatrix warily. "I don't think I want to."

Bellatrix stared at him, anger building in her eyes. "Always the weak one, huh, Draco? You're just like your mother, such a coward."

Draco saw red. "Do not mention my mother!"

"Ohhh, I didn't realize. Sore spot?" Bellatrix smiled again, showing off her yellow and cracked teeth. She twirled her wand around her finger and stared at Draco.

He stared back. The two of them looked at each other for a while, wands drawn, before immediately starting to fight.  
As soon as the first spell left Bellatrix's wand, she crumpled, to the ground.

 _What the hell._

Deciding to think about it later, Draco bound Bellatrix up in magical ropes, and rushed to see how Hermione was faring. He put two fingers against her wrist, and sighed in relief as he felt the skin pulse.

Blaise was by his side within the next few seconds.

Draco raised his eyebrows, impressed. "You managed to beat both of them?"

Blaise shrugged. "Kinda. As soon as Ms. Bitchy Bitch fell, they both turned around and stopped fighting. That being said, how'd you get her into those ropes?"

"I have no idea," was all Draco could say. "Well, should we grab Potter and get going then?"

"Definitely," Blaise replied. "It's been at least 3 hours now since I last ate food, and I'm really feeling the aftereffects."

Draco rolled his eyes, but grinned. _Good to know some people never change._

* * *

Honestly, Blaise was about 0.02% sure about what had just happened. It had occurred so fast, it slipped from his view. _So, one minute all I can hear is Bellatrix's annoying laugh, and now she's on the floor?_

But, after being friends with Draco for a few years when they were younger, Blaise had finally learned something called "Don't question things."

Now, he and Draco were watching over Harry and Hermione, and occasionally giving each a small healing spell. They had originally planned on apparating away, but having to apparate two other people that are knocked out, while you're incredibly tired is not usually a good idea. Instead, they waited patiently ( _well, impatiently on Draco's part)_ for the backup to arrive.

Everything was going relatively well on everyone's part but Hermione's. Draco had a small wound on his shoulder that could be healed instantly. Blaise looked a bit more battered, but would not suffer anything long term. Harry, they weren't completely sure about since neither of them were Healers, but he seemed to just have a few scars ( _More to add to his collection,_ Blaise though) and a cut on the back of his head. However, both Blaise and Draco knew that Harry had probably gone through the Cruciatus, so there was no real knowing how he would turn out. But the real issue - Hermione. Blaise had heard Bellatrix say, " _Crucio!"_ many, many, _many,_ times. And he knew what had happened to Neville's parents.

 _That wouldn't happen to her, right?_

* * *

 **AN: I'm sorry for not posting for a while, and that this chapter is short, but I'll make it up at some point. PARCC testing is starting soon and all of my teachers are going crazy or something about it.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

Disclaimer: I really wish I owned Harry Potter.

* * *

 **Everything was going relatively well on everyone's part but Hermione's. Draco had a small wound on his shoulder that could be healed instantly. Blaise looked a bit more battered, but would not suffer anything long term. Harry, they weren't completely sure about since neither of them were Healers, but he seemed to just have a few scars ( _More to add to his collection,_ Blaise thought) and a cut on the back of his head. However, both Blaise and Draco knew that Harry had probably gone through the Cruciatus, so there was no real knowing how he would turn out. But the real issue - Hermione. Blaise had heard Bellatrix say, " _Crucio!"_ many, many, _many,_ times. And he knew what had happened to Neville's parents.**

 ** _That wouldn't happen to her, right?_**

* * *

The Russian Minister of Magic was a tad bit angry, to say the least.

"You ran off without even informing first! And _now_ look at what's happened!" he roared, pointing his finger at Harry and Hermione, who lay in a crumpled heap in the corner of the room.

"Well," Blaise started to say, but Draco sent him a pointed look that clearly stated _Shut up._

"We're sorry," Draco said sheepishly. "We were not thinking straight and made rash decisions, but let's focus on the injured ones first, shall we?" He looked down at his shoes and prayed that the Minister would take pity on him, and not report the incident to people back in Great Britain. _No doubt everyone would blame it on me. They would have my ass hauled to Azkaban for 'attempted murder' of Potter and Granger, I bet._

Abram stared at him for a moment, clearly not ready for the subject to drop yet. Draco was sure he was going to continue to reprimand him, so he was taken by surprise when Abram turned around and ordered his men to apparate all of them to the nearest hospital. If Abram saw Draco's shock, he sure didn't let it show.

The hospital they arrived at was quite similar to St. Mungo's - Pale white walls, and marbled white floors that were perfectly polished. A row of symmetrical and identical doors, each a blend of white and light yellow, like the color of a warm light. Square windows, each charmed so that the patients could see outside, but the people walking down the street couldn't just peer in.

Draco felt uncomfortable. He had never liked hospitals, mostly because they had never given him good news. _Stop thinking about that,_ Draco chided himself, as soon as those thoughts came to his mind. _They tried their best._

Hermione and Harry had already been carted away to be healed, which left Blaise and Draco to themselves.

"So," Blaise said, propping his head on his hands. "What have you been up to?"

Draco shrugged. "Well you know, just the usual Dark Lord living in my house and stuff, nothing big."

"Any hot girl I need to know about? Or guy, I guess."

Draco nodded. "Yes, tons of people are lining up at my door, just waiting to date me. The whole 'Bad boy' thing really gets them worked up you know. I think they get turned on or something every time they think about how I used to work for an evil supremacist or how I might accidentally kill them in their sleep or something."

"No need to sound so bitter. Not good then?"

"Clearly."

They fell into a thoughtful, but awkward silence.

"What about you?" Draco asked, feeling inclined to break the silence. "How's your love life?"

"It's been…" Blaise paused. "I had someone I loved, who I thought loved me back, but then I caught her cheating. That was a whole year and a half ago though. Haven't really been involved much since."

"Oh," Draco replied quietly, not sure what to say.

"So, you and Hermione are aurors now?" Blaise questioned, changing the subject.

"Well, I'm an auror. Granger's in law enforcement. She's only here because she's fluent in probably every language that ever existed, and the Russian Prime Minister gets offended when people don't speak Russian apparently. That being said, what's your job?"

"I'm a bit like an auror too, but I don't actually go out and fight that much. I'm considering quitting the job, actually."

Draco was about to ask why, but a tall woman in an completely white outfit walked in and said something in Russian. Blaise replied to her and motioned for Draco to follow them.

"You know - " Draco was just about to mention that if Blaise knew English and Russian, then there really wasn't that big of a need for Hermione, when the woman in the white coat glared at him. _For not speaking Russian, I bet._

Blaise shot Draco a bemused look and tried not to laugh.

* * *

When Harry awoke, he had no idea where he was. _I guess this is just a reoccurring thing now. I just woke up in some old cell in the middle of nowhere and now I'm in this white room and I can't move, again._

If he could roll his eyes, he would.

A nurse came in right about that moment, and look startled to see that he was awake. Behind her was one - no, two - more people. _Is that… Malfoy? And who's behind him? Is he secretly part of the rogue Death Eaters?_

Harry tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn't budge. The nurse bent over him with something in her hand. He felt a sharp pain, and then everything disappeared (again).

* * *

"You're using Muggle needles now?" Draco asked, forgetting that the nurse didn't like him speaking English. Blaise quickly repeated the question in Russian to the nurse. If it were possible, she seemed to get angrier.

"What did she say?"

Blaise seemed reluctant. "She says that the Muggle way is very effective."

Draco nodded, then whispered, "Why is she so angry?"

"Take a guess."

Suddenly, Draco worked it out. " _Oh._ I'm an idiot aren't I? Can you tell her that I didn't mean to sound like the Muggle way was inferior…"

Blaise was just about to when the nurse started to speak rapidly to him.

Draco noticed that the nurse did not even look at him as she left the room.

"Ok," Blaise said, waving his hands in front of Draco to get his attention. "She says that our Golden Boy will be fine, he just needs to rest. They're letting us take him back tomorrow. And Hermione is in the next room over, apparently she over exhausted her magic energy with some spell - although I don't know which. They're letting her out soon, and I'm guessing we're supposed to wait."

They sat down in the waiting room again, waiting for "soon" to happen. It turns out that it was actually quite a long time, they ended up waiting for two hours.

Hermione walked in after a while, with bandages covering her left arm. The doctor handed her a bottle of a greenish-brownish liquid before walking off.

"Are you alright?" Blaise was the first to speak.

"Yeah," Hermione replied. "Where's Harry?"

 _Of course she would ask for him,_ Draco thought.

Before he could say anything, Blaise had already told Hermione and now, as they walked out of the hospital, they were engaging in some sort of conversation. He zoned out after they started to discuss the rights of goblins.

He tuned back in right about the time Hermione said, "So, if I may ask, why is there a piano in your office?"

Blaise grinned. "Piano's my life passion, I think. Unfortunately, I'm not good enough to play for a living yet, which is why I have this boring Ministry job - Not that Ministry jobs are that bad, I'm sure yours is great."

At this point, Draco intervened. "Don't let him fool you, Granger. I heard you a few times back in Hogwarts and you were amazing, even back then."

"You should play for me sometime," Hermione added. "I'd love to hear you. And - just another question. How did you manage to get permission for the piano in your room though?"

"Oh that? They don't know about it."

* * *

 **AN: I know, I haven't uploaded for over two weeks and I probably won't update for a long time again. I have a concert coming up, a bake sale (for Relay for Life), and I'm going out of the country for a few days in April. Sorry!**


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